A locked school, missed deadline lead to charges of 'theft' in school board appointment

LOVELAND, Ohio – Linda Cecil wore a black pantsuit Tuesday night and smiled as she was sworn in as a board of education member, replacing Kevin Dougherty, who resigned from the Loveland City Schools Board of Education over the summer.

Fifteen minutes later, Josh Hendrickson took the stand for public comment and announced, "a theft occurred today."

"Someone now sits on the board who didn't earn it, doesn't deserve it," Hendrickson, a parent and minister in the community, said. "Ms. Cecil, welcome to the board. I really hope your stay is very short."

Voters will decide whether or not to extend Cecil's tenure in November, as she is simultaneously running for a full-term board of education seat. Dougherty's term expires at the end of the calendar year.

The circumstances of Cecil's appointment have been discussed ad nauseam on social media after the school board, through a string of technicalities and missteps, lost the privilege of choosing its own member. Instead, the decision fell into the lap of Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ralph Winkler.

Winkler, a Republican, selected Cecil and ignored the school board's endorsement of another candidate, Miami University professor and active community member Brad Goldie. Cecil and Goldie are both registered Republicans, according to state voting records, but Goldie voted in the 2020 Democratic primary. Dougherty is not affiliated with a party but voted in the 2016 Republican primary.

Winkler was in the spotlight in 2020 when he appointed Cincinnati City Council members, after three sitting members were arrested on fraud and bribery charges. He appointed two Republicans, Steve Goodin and Liz Keating, to fill those seats, though they were previously filled by one Republican and one Democrat.

Goldie served on the Loveland school board's planning commission for several years and authored reports that helped inform major decisions for the district, the board wrote in a recommendation letter to Winkler. Goldie is not running for school board this November but applied for the interim seat.

Cecil, too, has been in the community a long time and has been vocal at school board meetings in the past. And she had supporters when she was sworn in at Tuesday's meeting. Stefani Wright, of Newtown, said she's known Cecil for 20 years and considers her a friend. She said Cecil is "a tenacious, loyal person" and "the most fiscally savvy person I've ever met."

"She's not your enemy. Please keep an open mind when she asks questions or offers suggestions. She is here to help," Wright said during Tuesday's public comment period. "So for those of you who have opposing politics, try to keep politics out of it. Because this is really about students and teachers and staff."

Why did Winkler appoint a Loveland school board member?

The school board interviewed 11 applicants in executive session and voted unanimously to have Goldie replace Dougherty at a July 17 special meeting. Cecil never applied for the role in July.

But when the meeting went public to announce Goldie's appointment, the board and administrators forgot to unlock the doors to the school building. So the meeting wasn't public, after all.

This was an accidental oversight, school board President Kathryn Lorenz said. And the meeting was recorded and is available to be viewed on the district's YouTube channel. Still, Lorenz called another special meeting in July to rescind Goldie's appointment so the school board would stay in line with Ohio's Sunshine Law.

"I will be bringing forward this motion in the interest of transparency and following proper procedure − it is no reflection on Dr. Goldie or any of the candidates who indicated an interest in the Board vacancy. I want to thank Dr. Goldie for his interest and willingness to serve," Lorenz wrote in a message to district families on July 24.

But the process created another problem: According to Ohio law, a school board must fill a vacancy by its next board meeting. By rescinding Goldie's appointment, the board had effectively operated without filling the vacant seat for two meetings.

At that point, Lorenz said the district's lawyer advised the board to surrender their appointment privileges to probate court with a letter of recommendation for Goldie.

November election weighed heavy on interim appointment decision

Once the decision reached Winkler's desk in August, his office sent out a memo for a second round of applicants. This time, Cecil applied. Goldie reapplied.

In a letter to Winkler, the board wrote it intentionally did not consider candidates who are running for a full-length term in the fall "so that our community can make their own judgement on the best candidates to elect from the field."

"Instead, we sought to appoint the applicant that possessed the greatest experience working with our district’s strategic objectives, and that we deemed could seamlessly work alongside us in serving the district until the end of this year," the board's letter recommending Goldie read.

Winkler disagreed. In his selection process, he told The Enquirer he didn't interview anybody and that he narrowed his selection down to those who are running for school board this November, automatically eliminating Goldie from his short list.

Winkler said he didn't know any of the candidates personally. He said all of the candidates were qualified, and that he "probably would have appointed" Goldie if he were running in the November election.

"I wanted to pick somebody that was running for a full term this year," Winkler said in an interview. "I thought that the person, if they're really dedicated to serving on the school board, they would be a candidate this year. And his (Goldie's) lack of running, that didn't sit well with me."

But Cecil wasn't the only applicant also running in the upcoming election. Christina Jeranek and Lynn Mangan also applied for the short-term seat, and both of them will be on the November ballot. Mangan's application even included an endorsement from Dougherty, the former board member.

In his letter of recommendation, Dougherty told Winkler that the board needs another "business oriented individual to maintain the diversity of experience Loveland has had in recent years." Mangan is the one for the job, he wrote.

"She has selflessly volunteered hundreds of hours of her time while managing a challenging and highly responsible business career. I believe she has the experience and judgment that is needed, but most importantly, the drive and commitment to do what is right for the children in our schools and the adults in our community," Dougherty wrote.

Dougherty also spoke highly of Goldie, writing that he would bring "very solid knowledge and experiences to this role."

"I and others relied heavily of Brad's extensive factual knowledge and analytics as we sought objective insights into difficult issues of finances, labor contracts and tax policy. He generously gave his time and considerable expertise often to help provide the foundation for the best decisions," Dougherty wrote.

The other applicants who submitted to Winkler's office for the vacant Loveland School Board seat were Marcia Neumann, Elliot Grossman and Rik Vonderhaar.

'Nothing nefarious here,' Cecil says

It's no secret school board meetings have gotten uber-political in recent years. Loveland hasn't been immune to the trend, Lorenz said. But she hopes Cecil's appointment won't be the catalyst for more division in the community.

And she certainly hopes the board itself can steer clear of politics and work well together, as they did Tuesday evening.

"I am concerned that too much politics in a board of education situation is dangerous for public education," Lorenz told The Enquirer on Wednesday. "I don't believe that it should be a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. I believe that public education is a right and a responsibility of our society, and it's the responsibility of the board of education to weigh all sides of an issue and do what's best for the students."

On Cecil's part, she said the school board has been very welcoming and denies she had any contact with Winkler before or during his decision to appoint her. She said she was "as surprised as anyone else" with his decision.

"There's nothing nefarious here," she said.

Cecil is one of four candidates running for two seats on the Loveland Board of Education this November. The other candidates are Jeranek, Mangan and Robert Vanover.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why did Judge Winkler appoint Loveland's new school board member?